Question

In 1850, on the eve of the rise of large-scale industry in India, which of the following was the most prominent community engaged in the trade of the two principal exportable goods from the western coast, cotton and opium?
1. European capitalists
2. Bengali traders
3. Parsis
4. Chettiars

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 3 : Parsis

• In 1850, on the eve of the rise of large-scale industry in India, the most prominent community i.e Parsis engaged in the trade of the two principal exportable goods from the western coast, cotton and opium.
• Colonial commodities created conditions that can be better understood in a global context and by scrutinizing the interconnections between developments in different parts of the world. As is well known, opium was a major colonial commodity. It was linked to trade in several other commodities of the modern era such as tea, sugar, cotton, and slaves. The movement of these commodities across continents shaped capitalism in very specific ways. In the case of India, for instance, earnings from the several components of the opium enterprise played a vital role in the growth of industrial capitalism in western India.
• Dayaram Dulobha had been active in the Daman-Goa trade since the turn of the century. He remained a key figure in the Daman trade throughout the period. The names of Moolchand Heerachand and Karamchand Hurruckchand crop up repeatedly in contemporary records, both Portuguese and British.
• Antonio Moniz in his historical account of Daman refers to Moolchand Heerachand (Mulchande Íra) as one of those merchants who introduced the opium commerce in the port. Byramji Bhikaji and his son Kavasji Byramji belonged to a family of Parsi priests.
• The family had settled down in Pune (Poona) in the mid-eighteenth century and later moved to the Portuguese territories in Gujarat. Byramji became a revenue-farmer for some of the petty chiefs in Gujarat. Byramji diversified into commerce and invested money in the opium trade during the twenties. His business was later carried on by his two sons Bhikaji Byramji and Kavasji Byramji. They owned a ship that plied between Daman, Bombay, China and Mozambique. Of the two brothers (Bhikaji and Kavasji), Kavasji was more important in the opium trade.